Former AHS volunteer swim coach charged with rape and sexual assault

A former volunteer swim coach at Ashland High School was arrested Tuesday on multiple counts of felony rape and sexual assault stemming from his alleged conduct with a 14-year-old girl on the team.

Sam Wheeler

A former volunteer swim coach at Ashland High School was arrested Tuesday on multiple counts of felony rape and sexual assault stemming from his alleged conduct with a 14-year-old girl on the team.

Camren M. Mitzel, 24, of Ashland, was being held in the Jackson County Jail on four counts of third-degree rape and four counts of second-degree sexual assault. His bail was set at $50,000, after Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Mejia raised the amount from $40,000 during Mitzel's arraignment Wednesday.

Mejia warned Mitzel, who appeared via a video feed from jail, that he is to have no contact with the victim should he be released on bail.

"And I mean no contact of any kind. Don't be in the neighborhood — nothing," Mejia told a somber Mitzel, who requested the assistance of an attorney.

Mitzel is the son of AHS swim team's head coach, Steve Mitzel, who did not return phone messages left Wednesday.

Ashland School District Athletic Director Karl Kemper also did not respond to messages left Wednesday.

The Ashland School District issued a news release stating it "cannot comment on the details of this incident during the investigation."

The release said Camren Mitzel is "currently not an employee or volunteer" for the district.

Whether Camren Mitzel's tenure as a volunteer for the high school ended prior to his arrest has not been confirmed. Neither AHS Principal Michelle Zundel nor district Superintendent Jay Hummel responded to messages left Wednesday.